Artists statement.
Romanticism is redefined as the emergence of ecopoetics and as a discourse that opens up critical questions and lines of investigation about our human place in the world.
My paintings signify this desire to be immersed in nature, to transcend separateness, alienation and fragmentation; a return to connection.
The landscape in my paintings is a signifier, a metaphor for existential exploration.
Colour is a language and in these forms, it is not merely mimetic but used as an expressive devise.
The orchestration of colour and its integration with form are really at the core of my painterly concerns.
The democratization of the surface, where all parts are equal reflects my search for a holistic or an integrated perception and promotes the figuration of nature’s agency and the web of interdependence.
Denise McShannon
Born: Belfast
Education; Belfast College of Art.
Camberwell School of Art and Design.London
( BA Hons, Painting).
Universitat der Kunste Berlin.
(Postgraduate MLitt)
Solo Exhibitions:
2010 Gallery Juliane, Hundermark, Berlin,
2008 Millennium Court Arts Center, Portadown,
2004 Galerie Kurt im Hirsch, Berlin
2003 Hallward Gallery, Dublin
2001 Hallward Gallery, Dublin
Selected Group Shows;
2019 “Urgencies,” CCA, Contemporary Center for Art, Derry
2018 Trasna, The Courthouse Gallery Ennistymon, Clare.
2018 Greenhouse, Berlin 12099
2017 “Firebird” Linen Hall Library Belfast
2017 Weserhalle, 12054 Berlin
2016 ‘Firebird’ Metropolitan Arts Center, The MAC, Belfast
2016 SomosBerlin, Kotbusser Damn 95, Berlin
2015 RHA, Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Summer Show,
2015 SomosBerlin Kotbusser Damn 95, Berlin
2013 RHA, Royal Hibernian Academy Annual Summer Show,
(Invited)
2009 Galerie Mani, Karlsruhe, 20 Berlin.
2008 Kosovo Drawing Biennale, Prishtana, Kosovo,
2005 Galerie Kurt im Hirsch, Berlin
2004 Iontas Small Works, Sligo
2003 Iontas Small Works, Sligo
2002 Hallward Summer Show
2001 Hallward Summer Show
1999 Flux group Show, Bank of Ireland, Dublin
C.H.A.R.T Group Show, Guinness Hop store.
1997 The Figure Show, Skibbereen Arts Center, Co. Cork.
Artists on CD, Group Show, Tipperary Arts Center,
Las Patatas Negras, Los Luminades, Barcelona.
Seven Artists,, Westgate Heritage Center, Waterford.
1996 SOS Skerries Arts Center, Skerries Castle, Co. Dublin
Powerhouse Art, Pigeon House Quay, Dublin
1996 MAPPE Group Show, BBK Galerie, Karlsruhe, Berlin.
1995 Northwest Artists, Yeats Gallery, Sligo
4 Artists group Show, Maugherow Schoolhouse Gallery,
Sligo
1994 Galerie Eimer, August Strasse, Berlin
1993 Die Laden, Gruppe Austellung, August Strasse,Berlin
Multi Media performances;
1993 ‘One Step behind Words’, Galerie Eimer, August Strasse,
Berlin.
1993 ‘Mother of God’, Die Laden, August Strasse, Berlin
1992 ‘Kill or Get Killed’ Die Babylon, Rosa Luxemburg Strasse,
Berlin.
1991 ‘Sea and Stone’ Tacheles Arts Center Oriannenburg Strasse, Berlin.
Denise McShannon’s work has been included in various private Art
Collections, in Ireland, Germany and the UK.
Denise works part-time as the artist in residence at St Columbas Mental Health Institution, Dublin.
In January 2007, St Columbas was awarded first prize, ‘Center of Excellence’ for her work by Lundbeck Ireland’s Art Awards, adjudicated by Dr Brian Mc Guire and artist Brion Burke.
In 2008 and 2010, her project was shortlisted again for “Center of Excellence” by Dr Brian McGuire and artist Dominick Thorpe.
She was awarded third prize, “Best Art Work”2013.